Estate planning–for your plants

By Matthew Heimer

James R. Hagerty / The Wall Street Journal

Ronna Scoratow (right) and friends.

Many people set aside money for their children in their wills. Some conscientious types provide for their pets. And then there are folks like Ronna Scoratow of Pittsburgh, a 63-year-old woman who is setting aside a $5,000 bequest so that a friend can care for her enormous philodendron after her death. It’s not an entirely eccentric decision for a green thumb, as James R. Hagerty explains this week in The Wall Street Journal. After all, there are various plant species that routinely live 70 years or longer—and folks who inherit them quickly learn that plant food doesn’t exactly grow on trees. Read Hagerty’s article here.

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About Encore

Encore looks at the changing nature of retirement, from new rules and guidelines for financial security to the shifting identities, needs and priorities of people saving for and living in retirement. Our lead blogger is editor Matthew Heimer, and frequent contributors include editor Amy Hoak, writer Catey Hill, and MarketWatch columnists Elizabeth O’Brien, Robert Powell and Andrea Coombes. Encore also features regular commentary from The Wall Street Journal retirement columnists Glenn Ruffenach and Anne Tergesen and the Director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Alicia H. Munnell.